FAIR

2022 FAIR Conference videos are now available to watch!

Interfaith Dialogue

Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 2–4

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Evangelical Questions: What Must I Do To Be Saved?

by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about what it means to be saved. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.  [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 2–4

Come, Follow Me Week 16 – Easter

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by Scott Gordon

This week, with Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Currently, 63% of Americans identify as Christian. This is down from 75% just 10 years ago. Those who are religiously unaffiliated, sometimes referred to as “nones,” has risen to almost 30% of the US population. This is an increase of 6% in the past 5 years.[1]

Does Religion Help? [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 16 – Easter

FAIR Conference Podcast #63 – Carl Trueman, “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution”

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This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming.

Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution

Carl’s book by the same name is available from the FAIR Bookstore.

Carl R Trueman is a graduate of the Universities of Cambridge (MA) and Abderdeen (PhD) and formerly served on faculty at the Universities of Nottingham and Aberdeen and Westminster Theological Seminary (PA).  Before joining the Grove City College faculty in 2018, he was the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life at Princeton University.  He is married with two adult sons and is also an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.  He is the author of numerous books, including Histories and Fallacies and The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, both from Crossway, and joint editor (with Bruce Gordon) of The Oxford Handbook of Calvin and Calvinism (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

Three Important FAIR Conference Presentations to Help Parents, Leaders, and Other Teachers of Children and Youth

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These three presentations are important to families and Church leaders of all faiths. We hope you will watch them and share them with your Latter-day Saint, and non-Latter-day Saint, friends.

Jeffrey Thayne – “Worldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swim” (transcript)

Carl Trueman – “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution”

Ed Gantt – “Agentic Sexuality: How a Latter-day Saint Perspective Can Rescue Humanity from the Tyranny of the Abstract”

Jeffrey Thayne is from BYUI, Carl Trueman is with Grove City College and is an Orthodox Presbyterian, and Ed Gantt is from BYU.

This is a reposting from a previous blog to highlight the conference presentations.

FAIR Voice Podcast #14: Interfaith Relationships and Missionary Work

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Emily and Andrew Jordan, hosts of Outpost of Heaven: the podcast, focus on building critical interfaith relationships while remaining grounded in their faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here, they share some stories and experiences that they have had while building these relationships and how they balance these efforts with missionary work. We have a good conversation about how to be an example to all and engage in faithful inclusive work. Next up on the podcast, we will have discussions about developing faithful worldviews and have our first two series: Book of Mormon historicity followed up by a yet to be announced exciting series. Stay tuned!

Hanna SeariacHanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and really good ice cream.

Jaxon Washburn – Interfaith Work, and Being called on a Mission

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Jaxon Washburn is a remarkable young man that has done a great deal of outreach work as part of being on interfaith councils, and other organizations that support religious practice. His story is unusual in that, while Jaxon was raised for the first 12 years in what he describes as a traditional Latter-day Saint household, following his mother’s decision to leave the Church, he began to live a sort of double religious life studying and experiencing two different faith traditions on a regular basis.

Jaxon also shares how previous FairMormon Podcasts were instrumental in helping him to navigate his faith crisis and come to a testimony of the truth claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Having faithful and scholarly answers to critical questions provided him with a path through his questions, and have answers where anti-mormon literature was suffocating and depressing.

This unique experience led Jaxon to study many of the worlds religions, and, like Joseph Smith, found himself with the designs of finding out which of all the sects was the one God wanted him to align himself. Through considerable study, including listening to some past podcasts by host Nick Galieti for the FairMormon organization, Jaxon felt that he had gained a testimony of the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel, of its claims to prophetic leadership and the validity of the Book of Mormon as Scripture.

Arizona Interfaith Council - Jaxon Washburn
Some members of the Arizona Interfaith Council – including Jaxon Washburn

Jaxon came to the decision to place on hold his religious studies path in the halls of higher learning to serve a mission. In this episode he announces where he has been called, as well as some of the pilot program that he is involved with regarding language learning through the MTC. This episode features an powerful story of love, the importance of study in coming to a conversion, as well as the remarkable ways that life experience can guide us in the path that leads us back to our Heavenly Father.

Jaxon on the World Religion and Tolerance Club
Jaxon (and other students) in the World Religion and Tolerance Club

To learn more about the mission where Jaxon will be serving his mission – click here.

Intro to Islam with Daniel Peterson

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Daniel Peterson and Nick Galieti with LDS Mission Cast

FairMormon would like to introduce to our podcast audience a new podcast called LDS MissionCast. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nick Galieti. The LDS MissionCast is designed to educate and inspire in missionary work. This could include those preparing to leave, those that have come home from full-time mission service, or member missionaries. One could make the case that missionary work is the underlying effort fueling apologetics. Part of missionary work is answering critical questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; part of apologetics is helping to defend the doctrines to build faith and bring people unto Christ–these two efforts are two sides of the same coin.

We all have the opportunity to interact with people all over the world and discuss our faith with them, but we may not always be as conversant with gospel principles or in answering controversial subjects as we might like. For that matter we may not always understand the culture or religions of those we call our neighbors. This is where LDS MissionCast comes in.

FairMormon is sharing select episodes of the LDS MissionCast in our podcast feed. From time to time, as episodes fit the mission and purpose of FairMormon, we will share them with our podcast audience.

This first episode is an interview with Daniel C. Peterson on what missionaries and members should know about Islam (Intro to Islam – What Members and Missionaries need to know). As a professor at BYU for Islamic Studies, Dan Peterson shares his years of expertise in this matter. Islam is a rich and sometimes controversial faith tradition–one of the largest in the world. It is not uncommon for members of the LDS Church to have a neighbor who is Muslim, and one of the best ways to build bridges of fellowship is to know more about their history and some of the differences and similarities between our two faiths.

LDS MissionCast Podcast for Mormon Missionaries

The Coming Revolution of Virtual Missionaries: Review of Books by Greg Trimble

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore at 15% off

If I remember correctly, I first came across Greg Trimble’s blog by seeing his post “Quit Acting Like Christ Was Accepting of Everyone and Everything” shared by a friend on Facebook, apparently some time in 2014. I liked it enough that I shared it in a few places as well. He has since written a bunch of other posts that have also been shared widely, so most LDS people online are probably familiar with his name.

In the last year, Trimble has started publishing books. His first one, Dads Who Stay and Fight: How to Be a Hero to Your Family, showed up on Audible’s website, so I thought I’d give it a listen. It is a book about being a good father written by a young father, so it does have its weak spots. A lot of the chapters could have used fewer stories and more concrete examples. But there were some really good ones that made the whole thing worthwhile, in particular the ones on marriage, technology, and protecting your family from worldly influences.

A few months ago, I saw that he had published another book, The Coming Revolution Inside of Mormonism. I was curious enough about the title that I wanted to take a look at it, and I requested a review copy. When it arrived, it was accompanied by The Virtual Missionary: The Power of Your Digital Testimony, which had also recently been published. Since then, The Coming Revolution Inside of Mormonism has been retitled to The Cultural Evolution Inside of Mormonism, apparently because the original title had caused a lot of confusion. In order to avoid confusion here, I will refer to the book by its new title (and assume that none of the actual content has changed). [Read more…] about The Coming Revolution of Virtual Missionaries: Review of Books by Greg Trimble

Have There Been Any Latter-Day Parallels to Balaam’s Blessing? (Gospel Doctrine Lesson 16A)

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Balaam Son of Beor Inscription from Deir ʿAllah. This fragment, dating to several centuries after the events of Numbers, recounts a night vision of Balaam, son of Beor, a “seer of the gods.” Though the content of the vision has nothing to do with the Bible story, the text provides evidence that stories surrounding the figure of Balaam were known anciently outside the Bible among peoples who lived in the area east of the River Jordan.

 

An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 16: “I Cannot Go Beyond the Word of the Lord” (Numbers 22-24; 31:1-16) (JBOTL16A)

 

Question: Have there been any latter-day parallels to Balaam’s blessing?

Summary: In 1898, Dr. John M. Reiner, a Roman Catholic scholar, visited Utah. In a talk given at the Salt Lake Tabernacle at the invitation of President Wilford Woodruff, he described in striking terms the parallels he found between ancient and modern Israel. Throughout his talk, he wove in colorful and informative allusions to the story of Balaam, who had blessed Israel in spite of himself. Reiner also spoke vigorously of the strength of the claims of apostolic authority that, in his view, had been credibly put forth by only two churches: the Roman Catholics and the Mormons. Although not claiming the gift of prophecy, Reiner’s eloquent words of appreciation and friendship for the Latter-day Saints were sincere and generous. His little-known discourse drawing out modern day parallels to the story of Balaam and Israel deserves to be better known.

 

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL16A — Have There Been Any Latter-Day Parallels to Balaam’s Blessing?

Stephen H. Webb, 1961–2016

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Stephen WebbDr. Stephen H. Webb, retired Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Wabash College, passed away unexpectedly on March 5, 2016. He was a speaker at the 2015 FairMormon Conference in Provo, Utah, where he delivered his remarks on “Why Mormon Materialism Matters.”

Dr. Webb earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago and, since 2007, was a practicing Roman Catholic. In recent years he had become interested in the Latter-day Saint faith, and published two books on Mormonism through Oxford University Press: Mormon Christianity: What Other Christians Can Learn from the Latter-day Saints (2013) and, with Alonzo L. Gaskill, Catholic and Mormon: A Theological Conversation (2015).

FairMormon volunteers are deeply saddened by his passing, and express our sympathy to his family and loved ones.

You may read Dr. Webb’s obituary and sign the online guest register on the Legacy.com website.